People have enjoyed drinking coffee for hundreds of years its use spread from Asia through the Middle East and on its way to Europe. Various methods of coffee preparation exist and each method has its own unique characteristics which are suited to a variety of tastes and lifestyles. One (1) of the more popular methods of preparation is that of automatic drip brewing which tends to take much of the guesswork out of preparing coffee.
Commercial automatic coffee makers, as found in offices and restaurants, make coffee by the use of a self-contained water connection. In these machines, the user simply adds ground coffee beans and can simply initiate the preparation process to make an entire pot of great tasting coffee. Residential automatic coffee makers are common sites in most peoples' kitchens. Unfortunately, such convenience as mentioned is typically not offered in the residential arena due to the fact that people may make only make one (1) or two (2) cups of coffee. Thus disadvantageously, a residential coffee maker typically requires the user to pour the exact amount of water into a holding container prior to beginning the brewing process. While such a method does work, it requires additional time and effort on the part of a user which is typically not available during the morning rush to get out of the house. Additionally, the user must physically engage the coffee maker in order to initiate the brewing process.
Various attempts have been made in the past to overcome these problems and provide for a better means of automatic coffee preparation. Among the relevant attempts to address these problems are several U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,793,934; 4,094,233; 4,713,253; 5,285,718; 6,481,339; and 7,028,603. While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objective, each of these references suffers from one or more of the following disadvantages: multistage water delivery mechanisms for effective use in industrial settings; the use of probes or mechanical floats as a means of sensing water levels; cumbersome size; the use of internal pumps to deliver water between hot and cold storage tanks; and a control system which requires physical engagement.
Accordingly, there exists a need for an invention that operates without the disadvantages as described above and provides a means by which the ease and convenience of commercial coffee makers can be made available to residential users. The development of the invention herein described fulfills this need.